Physical therapy is a field that has helped millions of people every year, thanks to the active invention of new methods.
Nowadays, physical therapy is one of the most varied and most practiced medical fields in the nation, and there are plenty of reasons that a person should partake in at least one kind of physical therapy. From occupational therapy to rehabilitative physical therapy and everything else in between, there is bound to be one classification of PT that will be able to benefit you.
Why a patient decides to start undergoing physical therapy can stem from many reasons. For some, it can reduce the pain of chronic diseases or conditions, since physical therapy can help control these kinds of things in place of surgery, which can have high costs and larger sets of risks. Others may want to improve their mobility, whether it be due to age-related issues or out of the simple desire to do so.
Conditions such as pinched nerves, arthritis or having joints replaced may lead to a long journey back to full mobility. For those that simply wish to improve themselves, various exercises exist that can assist you in improving your movement. Some may need to partake in physical therapy after different injuries, whether it be from sports or normal activities. No matter who you are, physical therapy can be undergone for a wide variety of reasons, and there is no one requirement that patients must have in order to partake in these kinds of practices.
Once one decides that physical therapy is the right thing for them, they must decide what kind of therapy they wish to undergo. Several categories exist under the umbrella title of “physical therapy,” and it helps to understand the differences between each type of treatment.
One example is occupational physical therapy, which focuses less on doing exercises and more on adjusting your daily routines to what your body is capable of. For example, one may undergo occupational therapy to improve their fine motor skills, which are used for actions like driving or cooking, or to help themselves with coping strategies if said patient is dealing with mental health issues.
There is also neurological physical therapy, focused on helping recovery from neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s or spinal/brain injuries, geriatric physical therapy, which addresses mobility issues elderly patients may be dealing with, and rehabilitative physical therapy, which aims to quicken a patient’s recovery time after surgery. These, along with other kinds, are just some of the many ways physical therapy can be applied, which just goes to show how versatile physical therapy is as a medical practice.
Since physical therapy is a vast field, that means that you can find a physical therapy regiment that fits you and what you need the most. How physical therapy is conducted also varies; sometimes it can be as simple as doing a list of assigned exercises and stretches, while other times the latest advances in medical technology can be used to further you along your road to recovery.
There are a wide variety of modalities that physical therapists can use as part of treatment plans. There is Alter G, a type of anti-gravity treadmill meant to help people return to bearing their weight whilst moving after injury or surgery. Game Ready is a type of machine that uses ice and compression to treat swelling and pain, especially after acute injuries. There even exist machines that conduct light therapy to alleviate pain and reduce inflammation, like the Litecure Class IV Laser. Regardless of what you may be dealing with, there is likely a kind of technology that can help you in the ways you need.
Physical therapy may be one of the oldest medical fields, but that does not mean it is outdated. Rather, it has kept growing and evolving even to this day, with various types of treatment plans and methods available for undergoing. It is a field that is respected for how versatile it continues to be, and no matter who you are, there is something in the vein of physical therapy that is bound to help you, whether or not you are injured.
There are many places that you can go to start physical therapy, but out of them all, Alliance Orthopedics is definitely one of the most versatile spots. Not only do we actively use physical therapy as part of our treatment plans, but we also utilize chiropractic and several other healing methods. With a vast selection of staff on-hand and a growing list of locations across the state, we are determined to help you and the state of New Jersey get better faster. To learn more about what we can do for you, feel free to contact us at our offices in Matawan, East Brunswick, Freehold, Old Bridge, and coming soon, Fair Lawn! We look forward to hearing from you.